Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, the new Ondo State Commissioner for Education
By Debo Akinbami
I know something about the education department – the new dole of Professor Igbekele Amos Ajibefun. I belong in this constituency, so I can tell, at no cost, that the plodding isn’t a flair for every academic. Not many -around- are adept at this distinct drudgery that Ajibefun has learned to leisurely do. To this extent, his call is apposite.
I know something about Professor Ajibefun- the new helmsman for the education ministry. He has the Midas touch. He was recalled to public service after a short rest, having governed two tertiary institutions for ten, unbroken years. He led, lustrously, Adekunle Ajasin University as Vice Chancellor and left great bequests. He had worked the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic into a tall tribune, earlier.
For his good antecedents, his choice as education commissioner sprouted applause. His nomination spoke to Governor Aiyedatiwa’s sense of sound judgement and seriousness about governance. The governor’s list was a pleasant surprise. It’s no child’s play to put up a cabinet of such impressive credentials; one that arguably meets the public’s expectation, given the associated pressure, lobby and blackmail that usually puncture the process.
Though it tarried, the list made a difference; a clear departure from the typical recycling of regular political actors that his predecessors were wont to do. The difference, this time, suggests strongly that governor Aiyedatiwa is more interested in good governance than politics, at least for now. It conveys admirable willpower, fine public spirit and a knack for the right priorities.
In the orgy of his new call, however, Ajibefun’s heartbeat must either be pacing or panting, not for want of ideas but for the enormity of challenges of his new role, and the high expectations of him. He cannot afford to do the usual business; and he cannot afford to fail. Though he stands tall, he bears a unique burden. Before him lies a long list of daunting duties that must be done.
The remaking of the public primary schools must make a primary assignment for the new commissioner. It becomes pertinent to reevaluate the challenge with this section with new vigour, and fix the flaw forthwith in the interest of our children- our future.
There is a crying need for intentional and transparent synergy between education ministry and Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in order to salvage the primary education.
SUBEB should be frontally reorganized and repositioned to truly deliver its mandate and cease to be the cash cow for desperate politicians and their cronies. The secondary schools should receive corresponding attention; government should upgrade the second schools by upscaling the requisite facilities; it should improve the quality and quantity of teachers through merit-driven recruitment and timely training.
Higher education requires immediate overhaul; and this has to be done with reasonable speed. The tertiary institutions should be spared of political interference, at any cost, as this has hitherto fouled its freshness. Effective funding of the sector must be a matter of priority and not politics. Government must however be stricter with the processes of recruiting administrators for the institutions and should be more deliberate with the making of the governing bodies.
Governing councils are supposed to add value to the colleges they oversee; to disburden and not emburden them with criminal demands or constitute conduits for draining the institutions’ meagre financial energies as is now the norm. This trend should worry every right thinking citizen; but it should bother Ajibefun more as critical parts of his beautiful burden, so that sundry ailments afflicting the tertiary section would be addressed head-on.
While I do not pretend that all these would make an easy task for Ajibefun, I am not in doubt that the man who called him will give the necessary support. Ajibefun has the gift, grit and guts to do the job. The tasks may be tough, they are not impossible for him. I wish Professor Ajibefun well.
- Dr. Akinbami teaches Journalism & Public Relations at the Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko.
